Yoonie Shin Oral History Interview

Yoonie Shin begins her interview by discussing her upbringing in South Korea and her move to the United States in middle school. She then describes the rigorous, testing-focused education system that she became accustomed to in Korea before relocating with her mother and older brother to Hillsboro, Oregon. Shin next details her experiences learning English as a second language and having to catch up to native English-speaking peers in school. In this, she reminisces on a specific memory of watching a Christmas movie in theaters and realizing that she could understand all the English in the movie.

From there, Shin describes her tenure of service in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from high school. In so doing, she discusses her experiences with sexism and misogyny within the Marine Corps, and the failed attempts of those in power to combat it. After completing her Marine Corps training, Shin began to attend Oregon State University as a Computer Science major, a field that her uncle inspired her to pursue. Reflecting on OSU, Shin talks about continued experiences with sexism, and the challenges that she still encounters as a non-native English speaker. At the conclusion of the session, Shin speaks of her aspirations of the future, including securing an internship in the information technology field and making her family proud of her success.